Mechanism for the control of circuit-breakers.



L. L. ELDEN.

MECRANISM FoR THE CONTROL 0E CIRCUIT BREAKERS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-2, 1903.

Patented Oct. 26, 1915.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE LEONARD L. ELDEN, OF DORCHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE, BY MESNE ASSGN- MENTS, T0 GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A. CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

MECHANISM FOR THE CONTROL 0F CRCUIT-BREAKERS.

Original application filed .Tune 20, 1501, Serial No. 65,241.

1903. Serial No. 183,457.

To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, LEONARD L. ELDEN, a citizen of the United States, and residing in Dorchester, inthe county of Suffolk, in the State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Mechanism for the Control of CircuitsBreakers, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

My invention is an improvement in automatic circuit breakers and relates more particularly to the tripping mechanism and to theautomatic 'releasing thereof or cutting oli of control of the operating member, my present application being a division oi the application liled June 20, 1901, Ser. No. 65,241.

inthe drawings, in which I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, Figure 1 shows one form of my circuit breaker in side eleva-tion, parts being broken away for clearness of iiiustration, and shows in dotted lines the position assumed when the circuit is broken or the breaker is open. 2 is a detail in side elevation'of a portion of the tripping device, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view, parte being broken away, showing details oi the operating mechanism. Fig. si is a fragmentary view in end eievation showing the cooperating contacts.

if or convenience of illustrati shown one of my improved rc1. in position on a switch hoard in is herein shown, a bracket a?, w c is bolted to the switch hoard, s` rear portion oi' the circuit brea' ci? vertical insulating posts al their lower a base bloeiA o; ehonite, or other properinsuiating material.

Tie block am carries on its upper side usual contacts o in pairs, there sci g nere in shown three pairs thereof', adapted receive the wires :trom a three phase generator, or the wires oi any other three circuits which may be inter-related in such a inanner that it is desirable to make and break the same simultaneously.

Each contact spring a connects with a conductor or post a for receiving thecircuit Wires.

have breakers Specification of Letters Patent.

l device,

Patented Oct. 26, 1915..

Divided and this application led December 2,

o2? to the free end of a bell crank a24 pivoted at c25 in ears a2 extending rigidly-from thefbracket as.

The opposite end of the bell crank is bi furcated, and the opposite free ends thereof provided with a roll a, operating in a slot e128 in a collar (L30 of a plunger or reciprocating rod a31 which is arranged to slide in a bearing a provided for convenience in the 'bracket as. i

The plunger L31 passes out through the head a and through a plate (1,33, secured in a similar manner to the front side of the switch board A, and is normally held under a tendency to move inwardly by means of a powerful spring a which bears against the collar (L30.

rihe plunger a31 is connected with a toggle which, however, is not herein claimed, as it and also the other features herein shown and not claimed, are duiy claimed in my aforesaid application and also application Ser. No. 184,6d8, filed December 10, 1903., rlhis toggle is composed oi opposite pairs oi? links (L35, a3, pivcted to each other at as" and connected together by a bridge @35, and at their opposite pivoted respectivelyat o 'to brackets o and at e411 to the extreme projecting end ci? the plunger a, and normally with a downward tendency by a spring am,

The plunger a is provided with a slot c in which operates the upper 'free end o* of an actuatin handle or lever a pivoted to lock the switch closed until the circuits disengaged from the part a,4u ofthe lever so I that the downward pull on said part has no control whatever on the part er*3 and accordingly the plunger 151 is thus automatically placed beyond thel control of the operator.

My invention also enables the operator to ascertain at any moment whether the line has been restored to normal (after having been automatically tripped for instance) by a simple movement of the actuating lever, inasmuch as the operation of the lever serves to actuate the plunger w51, which will thereupon be automatically locked in closed posie tion (by means of the toggle mechanism) if the difficulty has been removed, but, if the difliculty has not been removed, the plunger cannot be automatically locked (because of the automatic tripping mechanism, presently to be described), and hence, upon the automatic escape therefrom 4of the actuating lever, said plunger will automatically fly back to open position. ln other words, l provide a constructionin which asingle hand-lever has entire control over the circuit breaker at all times `whenever the line is in normal condition. l/Vhen the part c45V has been pulled down to close the circuit breaker and an overload has immediately opened the latter, the'part L43 is moved to the full line position, Fig. 2 and the locking pawl or latch ai automatically rengages the part c45 when the operator releases the latter.

The toggle at its pivot a is provided with a laterally extending pin 0.52inl position, when the toggle is extended, to engage the upper eccentric side w55 of a device herein shown for convenience as a lcvera,54 pivoted at c55 to the adjacent bracket a4 and preferably provided with an adjusting screw a5 1,'1 maso move inwardly the plunger aal which (see Fig l) Serves to turn the bell crank L24 upvwardly and thereby raiselthe bar @5 and simultaneously cut out or break the circuits connected with the circuit breaker thus operated.

lt will, of course, be understood by those skilled in the art thatv the details of wiring and general arrangement will be varied accoi-ding to the particularsituation, and, as v already intimated, neither is my invention restricted to the kind of circuit breaker herein shown. j

The adjustment of the height of the eccentric surface @53, herein shown as accomplished by means of the set screw a5, although it will be understood that any'other suitable means of adjustment may be employed within the spirit of my invention, is for the purpose of giving the circuit breaker any degree of sensitiveness or responsiveness, as, for instance, if the trouble is only momentary, as when two line wires might swing together and immediately swing apart again, it might be desirable that the breaker should not operate and hence the surface w55 would vbe adjusted to a low position, so as to render the operation of the circuit breakery not readily responsive, and hence, although the increase of the current through the coil b, would raise the armature b3 into contact with the lever am, it would drop down again instantly, and would not have had time to raise the lever L54 against the considerable resistance of the toggle device. Also, to enable the breaker to be operated at any predetermined increase of current, l pro- -vide on the lever ends of the guides b for regulating the normal height of the suri face L53 which engages the pin @52, and having a projecting end or arm c55 in position to be engaged and raised by any suitable automatic actuator. The actuator which I have shown is of the ordinary solenoid type consisting of a coil carried by brackets b1, on the switch board.

.In the coil operates a suitable core b2 carrying at its lower end a projection or plate-armature b3, and guided on rods b4, said plate b5 projecting in line with the end a" of the lever a5, so that when any accident occurs, such as a short circuit or Iother threaded thumb screws 52, by means of which the core b2 may be adjusted to correspond to a scale marked thereon, as is clearly shown in the drawings. When the operator Wishes to operate the circuit breaker, he,

simply pulls down upon the lever ai, thereby closing the circuit breaker, whereupon the lever automatically becomes inoperative leaving the circuit breaker free to open automatically in case any trouble should occur, and if said trouble does occur, it is impossible for the operator to prevent the circuit breaker from staying open by a simple movement of the lever on his part, inasmuch as the moment he lowers the lever a the plunger flies back automatically to open position, as, the surfaces L55 being raised by the excessive current vin the solenoids, the circuit breaker cannot become locked..

incasso Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y 1. An electric switch, campri'sing separable contacts, means for closing them., electroresponsiv-e opening means, and means independent of said eiectro-responsive means to vary the sensitiveness witlrwhich said contacts respond to said opening means.

2. il; switch, comprising separable contacts, closing mechanism therefor, and an operating member movable to actuate said closing mechanism and having .provision for disconnection by a continuation ot such movement.

3. A. switch, comprising separable contacts, closing mechanism therefor, and an operating member constructed to actuate said closing mechanism by a single movement and having provision for self-disconnection at the termination of such movement.

d. An electric switch, comprising separable coperative contacts, closing means therefor including means normally maintaining said contacts closed when moved to closed position, an operating lever, and automatic means for cutting 0H control of said operating lever at a predetermined point in the movement of said closing means.

5. In an electric switch, the combination of separable cooperative contacts, means for causing their separation, means for normally restraining the separating means,

means including an operating lever automatically disabled by movement into circuit closing position for preventing the maintenance of the separable coperative contacts in circuit-closing position during the continuance of predeterminedelectrical conditions in the circuit, and'automaticl mag-- netic means for controlling the switch upon the occurrence of said predetermined electrical conditions in the circuit.

6. In an electric switch, the combination of separable coperative contacts, means for causing their separation, .means for normally restraining the separating means,

means including a swinging, self-breaking lever, for preventing the maintenance of the separable cooperative contacts in circuit-closingposition during the continuance of predetermined current conditions, and automatic magnetic means for actuating the switch upon the occurrence of said predetermined current conditions.

7. In an automatic magnetic circuit breaker, separable 'coperative contacts, closing means therefor, and electro-responsive means ifor preventing the maintenance of the contacts in circuit closing relation during the continuance of predetermined current conditions, said electro-responsive meansbecoming inoperative for said pur.- pose upon the discontinuance of said current conditions, means then operating for retaining said contacts closed when actuated by said closing means, and means independent of said electro-responsive means for varying the responsiveness ot said retaining means.

8. A switch :tor electric currents, comprising separablecontacts to open and close the circuit, and closing mechanism therefor, including an operating handle and means causing the latter 'to lose control of said contacts every time they are fully closed.

9. A circuit breaker, having malte-andbreak contacts for controlling a circuit, an operating member therefor, an actuating device tor actuating said operating member, and means for automatically placing said operating member beyond the control of said actuating device whenever the circuitbreaker s closed.

10. A circuit breaker, having make-andbreak contacts for controlling a circuit, a longitudinally reciprocating operating member therefor, a swinging actuating device for actuating said operating member, means responsive 'to movement of said device into circuit closing position for automatically placingsaid device out of the control of said actuating device during abnormal current conditions, and means coperating with said member and said device for automatically enabling the latter upon the restoration of normal current conditions to regain control of said operating member, solely by movement of said actuating device.4

1l. In an electric switch, make-and-break contacts, a multi-part, self-breaking operat ing lever for opening or closing the switchcontactsv and automatically disconnected therefrom by movement into switch closing position, latching means responsive to current for normally holding the movable switch contacts in switch closing position and for automatically releasing said contacts independently of the handle, and connectioris for restoring the switchcontacts by the handle independently of said means.

lf2. In an electric switch, comprising separable coperative contacts, closing means therefor, a locking device-for retaining said contacts closed, automatic magnetic means for controlling the operation of said loclringdevice, anoperating lever, and automatic means for cuttingol control of said operating'lever at a predetermined point in vthe movement of said closing means.

erating lever, a movable contact, connectionsv between said contact andlever, -a locking toggle connected with said contact, a handle for moving` said contact to a limiting position and simultaneously by said movement setting the toggle in locked position, and automatic releasing mechanism', to collapse the toggle independently of handle movement.

15. An electric switch com risin a movable contact, an actuator therefor, a locking said actuator to saidt movable contact, and

toggle arranged when set to hold the'contact closed, means for disengageably connecting means.

Vses

17., An electric switch, comprising a contact-carrying member, a locking toggle connected with said member, an operating handle having detachable connection with said parts, and means having an electro-responsive controlling device for breaking said tog- 'gle independently of handle movement.

18. An electric switch, comprising a contact-carryihof member, a toggle connected with said member to cooperate in controlling th same, a lever-connected with and operating said toggle and automatically disconnected therefrom at a definite point in its movement, said lever having connections to-close the switch, and means having an electro-responsive controlling device for breaking said toggle.

19. An electric switch, comprising a contact-carrying member, a locking toggle for holding said member in switch closing position when locked, a lever to close the switch and having connections for actuating said toggle, said toggle and lever being constructed and mounted to render the toggle capable of being broken independently of the motion of the lever, and means having an electroresponsive controlling device in cooperative relation to prevent the maintenance of said toggle in circuit-closing position during the continuance of predetermined electrical conditions in the circuit.

20. An electric switch, comprising'separable contacts to open and close the circuit, y.

tact-carrying member, a locking vtoggle coclosing means therefor, and an operating 'lever provided with mechanical means for lanitomatically placing said closing means be` yond the control of said lever when moved to closing position.

ble contacts to open and close the circuit,v

closing means therefor, automatic' releasing .means responsive to predetermined current to open the switch, and an operating lever provided with mechanical means for automatically cutting odits control over the switch when the latter has been moved to closed position. .y

22. ln an electric switch, automaticy magnetic tripping means therefor, and an operating handle for closing the switch, having means normally maintaining inoperative relation between said handle and switch when -the latter is closed.-

23. An electric switch, automatic magnetic opening means therefor, Vand an operating handle provided `with an automatically- 'tripped latch for mechanically disconnecting said handle and switch when the latter Ahas been closed.

24. An electric switch, comprising a contact-carrying member, 'a manual operating device provided with connecting means positively engaging said member for closing the switch, means for automatically disconnecting' said lever and member, and electro-responsive means for preventing the maintenance of the switch in circuit-closing position Vduring the continuance of predetermined electrical conditions in ,the circuit.

25. An electric switch, comprising a contact-carrying member, means for operating said member, closing means permanently se- 4 cured to said contact-carrying member for connecting said carrying'member and operating means, means or automatically disconnecting said closing means and operating means, and automatic means for releasing said closing means from closing position upon the continuance of abnormal current conditions. Y v

2G. An electric switch, comprising a cona tact-carrying member, manually operable means for actuating said member, electro-responsive means for automatically opening said switch, and independent mechanicall ripping means for said actuating means for preventing the maintenance of the lswitch in circuit-closing relation during the continuance of predetermined current conditions.

27. An electric switch, comprising a contact-carrying member, an operating handle for operating said member, a locking toggle 'connected with said member and having detacliable4 connection with said handle, 'and electro-responsive tripping means for eecting the release of the toggle to permit the opening of the switch.

28. An electric switch, comprising a conoperativein controlling said member, a lever discontinuousl connected with and operating said togg e and having connection to close the switch, and electro-responsive tripn ble contacts to open and close the circuit,

p operating means for said contacts, and an actuating handle for actuating said operating means, including two pivotally mounted members, means normally locking said members together, and releasing means for unlocking said members at a predetermined point in their swingingmovement and thereby losing control of the operating means.

30. An electric switch, comprising separable contacts to open and close the circuit, operating means for said contacts, and an actuating handle for actuating said operating means, including two independently movable members, a locking device for normally locking said members in predetermined relation, tripping means mechanically actuated at a definite point in the movement of said handle to release said locking device, and a spring for restoring the members to locked relation.

ln testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LEONARD L. ELDEN.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. MAXWELL, J. ETHEL TARE. 

